Confession time here. This is the first Lauren Myracle book I've read. I know her books have been banned a gazillion times, and more power to her for not being afraid to write about things she knows will offend some readers in order to reach those readers who connect to the material.

The Infinite Moment of Us is a romance about a Wren, a sheltered good girl, and Charlie, a foster kid who had a rough start in life. The book starts with them just before high school graduation. They run in different crowds, but they have secret crushes on each other. An accident gets them together and they have a blissful summer romance.

But once fall comes, Wren will be off to Guatemala for a gap year and Charlie will be going to college. This is the biggest conflict in the book, and the ending was no surprise. (There is conflict between Charlie and Wren via a psycho ex-girlfriend of Charlie's, but it only serves as a plot point to separate Charlie and Wren at a crucial time.)

There is also sex. There are girls as sheltered as Wren who would appreciate a graphic step-by-step description of Wren's first time. Such girls would probably also appreciate a step-by-step description of how Wren managed to get on birth control without her parents knowing, but Myracle only has Wren casually mention to a friend that she got it.

The Infinite Moment of Us is mostly an undemanding story of first love, but the explicit sex isn't going to be for everyone. Know your reader before you recommend.

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Celebrate Teen Literature was on Thursday, and YALSA announced this year's nominees for Teens' Top Ten.

This is a teen choice list, selected by participating teen book groups throughout the country, and their top 25 titles are this year's nominees.

Starting in August, any teen can vote online for their favorite nominee and the final Top Ten will be announced during Teen Read Week in October.

I promote Teens' Top Ten nominees as much as I can in the library because I know these are books that teens already love. I already had most of the nominees on the shelves and only had to order a few to round out the list.

But what I found interesting is that the few I hadn't ordered had mixed or even bad reviews from the publications I use most to select books - Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, and VOYA. The main complaint with the reviewers was that they couldn't connect with the main character, and therefore, couldn't connect to the story.

Yet these teen reviewers had no problem connecting with either the character or the story. What could cause this divide between adult and teen reviewers? Are adults too sophisticated and teens too naive? If the story is good enough, are cliched characters worth putting up with? Do characters that are considered underdeveloped by adults give teens an opportunity to better see themselves in that character?

As someone who reviews books, I think these are important questions. When I review a book, I try to make clear that my perceptions of the book are my own. Then I try to think of who else might have the same feelings about the book as I did. One size does not fit all when it comes to books.

That's why I think a teen review list like the Teens' Top Ten is so important. Because sometimes the adults get it wrong.

Sunday, April 13, 2014

I've worked in "reality" television, so I know there's a lot of manipulation in creating what the audience sees.

Sometimes it happens during production by influencing what participants are doing or saying. Sometimes in happens in post-production by changing context during editing. It's usually done to build a narrative arc, to streamline the messiness of real life into a half-hour or hour format.

But at least on the shows I worked on, it was never done maliciously. Reality Boy, however, imagines a show that does. Gerald was on a Supernanny-like show when he was five years old and became known as The Crapper because he defecated all over the house, including the dining room table. Millions of television viewers think he's the problem child.

What the camera doesn't show is that Gerald's psychopathic sister, Tasha, brutalizes him and crapping is his way to get attention. All he gets is the wrong kind of attention. The show comes and goes, but the stigma of being The Crapper stays with Gerald. Worse yet, Tasha stays, continuing to terrorize Gerald.

Now Gerald is sixteen years old, full of rage that has him going to anger management, and his parents are still clueless about Tasha. Gerald tries to control his anger by boxing, but he figures he'll likely end up dead or in prison in a couple of years.

Then he meets Hannah, a girl who has problems of her own and who sees beyond The Crapper. How these two people gain strength from each other to change their lives is a compelling read.

ShareThis

Search This Blog

About Me

I live in Southern California with my husband and our cats, Jake and Elwood. I have a MFA in playwriting from Arizona State University and a MLS from San Jose State University. I worked in the entertainment industry as a segment producer and researcher for reality television as well as a video game dialog editor. I'm also a former Disney/ABC Television Writing Fellow. I've (mostly) left the hullabaloo of Hollywood to become a librarian and write stuff I want to write. Like this blog.